New York Magazine - USA (2020-03-02)

Hereis a partiallist ofwhat onecompany promises
sittingundera smallpanelofredlightswillimprove:
athleticperformanceandrecovery(owingtofaster
musclerecovery andjointrepair),sleep(thankstoin-
creasedmelatoninproductionanda “healthycirca-
dianrhythm”),andskinquality (becauseofreduced
inflammationandincreasedcollagenproduction).
Theseredlights,inthiscasemadebyJoovv,are one
ofdozensofat-homeversionsofwhat’sknownaslight
the e,o i n,
a t ide g ge
usona cellularlevel.Thispast summer, thejournal
FrontiersinMedicinepublishedanissuededicatedto

photomedicine,andits 12 articles have an over-

whelmingef fectsimilartoJoovv’s marketing copy,

coveringdermatologicalconcerns like aging, skin

cancer,andpsoriasisaswellasautoimmune diseases

liketype1 diabetes.I like theway a 2016 journal

articlephrasesit witha badjoke that gives away the

researcher’squiet exuberance:After a brief overview

of peer-reviewed light-therapy treatments (for

arthritis,hearingloss, and chemotherapy side

effects),theconclusionstatesthat “after decades

confinedtothe‘scientificwasteland,’ [photobiomod-

ulation]may befinallyemerging into the light of day

(punintended).”

BY

Melissa

Dahl

PHOTOGRAPH

BY

Elizaveta

Porodina

64 THECUT|MARCH2–15, 2020

The actuallyconvincing

science of light therapy.

ABOUT

BEING A

Pl ant

WHAT I